Japan, which also included Mick Karn, Rob Dean, Richard Barbieri and Sylvian's brother Steve Jansen, started out as a confusing hybrid rock/sleaze outfit in the mould of David Bowie and The New York Dolls. Their music quickly evolved as, at least to begin with, they drew heavily on the influence of Roxy Music's art rock stylings. Their visual image developed in parallel and the band were (unwillingly) tagged as forerunners of the New Romantic movement.
Japan recorded five studio albums between March 1978 and November 1981. Their biggest hit single, the minimalist Ghosts, which reached the Top 5 in the UK charts in 1982, was a clear pointer to Sylvian's future direction. After a successful tour, the band split in late 1982, and Sylvian embarked upon a solo career.
Around the time of Sylvian's first solo album he collaborated with 坂本龍一 (Ryuichi Sakamoto) on the soundtrack music for the Nagisa Oshima film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), which produced a Top 20 hit single, Forbidden Colours.
Sylvian's debut solo album, the jazz and ambient-influenced Brilliant Trees (1984), met with critical acclaim and yielded the single Red Guitar, another Top 20 hit. Guest artists included Jon Hassell and Holger Czukay. His follow-up was an instrumental EP Alchemy which cemented his drift away from commercial pop
The EP was in turn followed by the double album Gone to Earth (1986), which flouted convention (and perhaps commercial wisdom) by featuring one record of songs (predominantly atmospheric ballads) and one consisting almost entirely of ambient instrumental tracks. Guest artists included guitarists Robert Fripp and Bill Nelson.
His third album, Secrets of the Beehive (1987), was more acoustic and oriented towards somber, emotive ballads laced with string arrangements by 坂本龍一 (Ryuichi Sakamoto). It yielded one of Sylvian's most well-received songs, Orpheus, and was supported by his first solo tour, 1988's "In Praise of Shamans". Sylvian's touring band included ex-Japan bandmates Jansen and Barbieri along with trumpeter Mark Isham, bassist Ian Maidman and guitarists David Torn and Robbie Aceto.
Never one to conform to commercial expectations, Sylvian then collaborated on several ambient music projects with artists including Holger Czukay and Russell Mills.
In 1991, a highly-anticipated Japan reunion (excluding Rob Dean) ended in acrimony. Sylvian insisted on calling the project and the album Rain Tree Crow, to the dismay of both his label Virgin Records (who were hoping for a hit "comeback" album) and his former bandmates. Guitarists Bill Nelson, Phil Palmer and Michael Brook augmented the quartet for the recording of the album.
In late 1991, Robert Fripp approached Sylvian and asked him to be part of a new King Crimson. Sylvian declined and instead suggested they work on a future collaboration resulting in the release of The First Day.
A period of relative musical inactivity followed, during which time Sylvian moved to the United States. Eventually in 1999, Sylvian released Dead Bees on a Cake. It showed the most eclectic influence of all his recordings, ranging from soul music to jazz fusion to Eastern spiritual chants, and most of the songs' lyrics reflecting Sylvian's inner peace with his marriage (to the wonderful poet/singer Ingrid Chavez), family and beliefs. Guest artists included longtime friend 坂本龍一 (Ryuichi Sakamoto), as well as Talvin Singh, Marc Ribot, Kenny Wheeler and Bill Frisell.
Sylvian parted ways with Virgin and launched his own independent label, Samadhi Sound. Sylvian experimented alone with treated sounds made from his guitar and computer. The results were recorded during February of 2003. A few months later, he released the album Blemish. The disc was stark in its sound and content. The lyrical subject matter dealt primarily with the impending dissolution of Sylvian's marriage. In 2005 The Good Son vs The Only Daughter was released, which was comprised of remixes of tracks from Blemish.
With the conclusion of "A Fire In The Forest Tour" in 2004, work resumed on a joint project between Sylvian and Jansen. Yet the course of the album took on a completely new tone after Sylvian decided to add keyboardist/vibraphonist/programmer Burnt Friedman to the proceedings and make him an equal partner in the collaboration. The band name of Nine Horses was adopted and the CD, titled Snow Borne Sorrow, was released in October of 2005. The sound was a return to more traditional avenues for Sylvian after the radical departure he took with Blemish. Elements of avant-garde jazz, pop, folk and electronic music were all blended together
Nine Horses' Money For All EP was released in 2006, which included new material as well as Burnt Friedman remixes of songs selected from their first disc.
News on Sylvian's website was released in March stating that "We're preparing for the release of David’s new album Manafon. It’s a powerfully bold, uncompromising work featuring contributions from Evan Parker, John Tilbury, Keith Rowe, Christian Fennesz, Otomo Yoshihide, and many more."
David Sylvian's official website: www.davidsylvian.com
The Rabbit Skinner
David Sylvian Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Child of the fifties
With no common sense
No easy resting place
Only lichen on beaches
Oil on gun barrel
And the hard taste of pennies
A God in his folly
Stands as proud as you please
The lungs won't full, the heart won't start
Bad luck child of the seas
And he alone, is a man without qualities
Combed his body for disorders
But the disease lived on in far-off quarters
As a God everything was filled to excess
As a man he settled for less
Here lies the rabbit skinner
God love the rabbit skinner
A life without purchase, no story to tell
And three little bitches fight where he fell
Foxes, foxes, give her a sign
And tell the little girl, and show her what's mine
Play hard and fast with the rules if you please
Here lies a man, without qualities
The Rabbit Skinner is David Sylvian's hauntingly beautiful song that invites the listeners to confront the emptiness of a life lived without purpose in modern times. In the opening lines, the songwriter reflects on who would abandon themselves to a life of meaningless existence, a "child of the fifties" with no "common sense" or "easy resting place." The imagery of "lichen on beaches," "oil on gun barrel," and "the hard taste of pennies" suggests a broken world, devoid of warmth and meaning. The singer paints a picture of a man who stands as proud as a god in his folly, but as a mere mortal, his lungs won't fill and his heart won't start. He is a "bad luck child of the seas," a man without qualities.
As the song progresses, the lyrics delve further into the rabbit skinner's innermost thoughts. The man combs his body for disorders, but the disease lurks in the far-off quarters of his mind. As a god-like figure, he had everything filled to excess, but as a man, he settled for less. In death, he has no purchase on life, no story to tell, and three little bitches fight where he fell. The haunting refrain "foxes, foxes, give her a sign" highlights the desperation of the rabbit skinner, a man who broke all the rules to belong but found himself in a place of emptiness and futility as he died.
Line by Line Meaning
Who'll do for him
Who will help him
Child of the fifties
A person who was born in the 1950s
With no common sense
Without good judgment or practical intelligence
No easy resting place
No comfortable or peaceful situation to settle into
Only lichen on beaches
The only thing growing or thriving is the lichen on the beaches, implying a bleak and inhospitable environment
Oil on gun barrel
Suggesting conflict and violence, perhaps even war
And the hard taste of pennies
Referring to poverty, as pennies are a symbol of low value
A God in his folly
In a moment of foolishness, he believed himself to be god-like
Stands as proud as you please
He stands with confidence and arrogance
The lungs won't full, the heart won't start
He is struggling to breathe, implying sickness or death
Bad luck child of the seas
Someone who has experienced misfortune and hardship while being associated with the ocean
And he alone, is a man without qualities
He is indistinct and lacks defining characteristics
Combed his body for disorders
Examined himself thoroughly for signs of illness
But the disease lived on in far-off quarters
Despite his efforts, the sickness persisted in other parts of his body or life
As a God everything was filled to excess
As a deity, he had unlimited abundance and extravagance
As a man he settled for less
His human form or existence was much less grand or impressive
Here lies the rabbit skinner
The person referred to in this song is dead and buried
God love the rabbit skinner
May God have mercy on his soul
A life without purchase, no story to tell
He lived a life without value or meaning, and has no legacy or interesting experiences to share
And three little bitches fight where he fell
Three unimportant or insignificant things are competing or squabbling over something left behind by him
Foxes, foxes, give her a sign
Addresses the animals in a mystical way to provide guidance or insight to someone else
And tell the little girl, and show her what's mine
Instructing or asking the foxes to reveal to a young girl something that belongs to him
Play hard and fast with the rules if you please
Encouraging disregard for societal expectations or conventions
Here lies a man, without qualities
Reiterating the fact that the person mentioned earlier was unremarkable and lacking defining characteristics
Lyrics © Red Brick Music Publishing
Written by: CHRISTIAN FENNESZ, EVAN PARKER, DAVID SYLVAIN, JOHN TILBURY, MARCIO MATTOS, JOEL RYAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind